An Elizabethan tapestry map previously thought to be lost forever is to go on display at the Bodleian Library in January. The 16th century map is part of a set of four huge pieces woven from wool and silk, which would once have covered some 80 sq ft of wall space. The Bodleian already has two of the four maps and a third is in the Warwickshire Museum. This newly-discovered part of the jigsaw depicts Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Warwickshire. In the years when it was missing it is believed to have been used as a fireguard in a private house. It was discovered last year and bought by the Bodleian for £100,000 with the help of the Art Fund, charities and private donors. The combined maps offer a unique representation of the countryside at the time of Shakespeare, when modern mapmaking was in its infancy.
